Venom Vol 1 152
* Supporting Characters: * * * ** ** Antagonists: * Unnamed bully * ** ** Numerous unnamed others Other Characters: * * The Venom Symbiote's various other hosts Races and Species: * * * * * Mutant * Locations: * ** *** **** *** **** ***** ****** New York Sewer System ****** Midtown ******* ******** ***** Items: * * Various symbiote suppressant compounds * | Synopsis1 = Unconscious, Eddie Brock recalls a time in his childhood where he was playing with dinosaur toys, only for a bully to take and destroy them. The Venom Symbiote calls out to him, telling him he has to wake up because he told it not to fight while he's asleep. Groggily recovering, Eddie asks it what's happening, and it tells him they're in the middle of a big fight with dinosaurs. Venom lashes out against the army of human-dinosaur hybrids, but is overwhelmed and pinned down. Stegron calls for a vote to decide Venom's fate: kill and eat him, or transform him into a human-dinosaur hybrid. When the hybrids are indecisive, Stegron orders them to bring Venom forward, noting that he's not just a human, but is bonded to a primordial entity as well. Venom accuses him of turning people into monsters, but Stegron retorts that the hybrids are his children: men, women, and even animals that had been discarded by society, made equal under dinosaur society. Venom sneers that they're not all equal due to Stegron lording over them like a god, and Stegron decides to use his formula on Venom, curious how it will affect the symbiote. Stegron coats a dagger with the formula, but Venom breaks free and throws a boulder, crushing one of the hybrids and damaging the wall. Stegron panics and yells at his army to kill Venom as the wall bursts, and the Hudson River begins flooding the cavern. Turning invisible, Venom tries to swim to safety but is attacked by a pair of mutated fish. He kills one, but is knocked unconscious and comes to lying outside a sewer drain as a voice asks if he's dead. The symbiote forces him to vomit the water flooding his lungs, and Eddie looks up to see a massive theropod with red scales. Transforming into Venom, Eddie attacks it, but is interrupted by a young girl, who breaks up the fight, though she threatens to stomp him if he's a bad guy. The girl introduces herself as Moon Girl and the theropod as Devil Dinosaur, doing science and crushing bad guys. Venom asks which they were planning to do and Moon Girl replies both, since Devil Dinosaur picked up a strange scent in the sewers and they followed it to Eddie. She wonders at the presence of monsters in the sewers and pulls out the severed head of one of the mutated fish, which Venom tosses aside, telling her he's taking care of it. When she mockingly states it looks like the mutated creatures are taking care of him, he tells her to go back to her studies and keep a better leash on her dinosaur, as there are no more monsters here. Returning to Alchemax, Eddie reports his discoveries to Liz Allen, who is dismayed to learn that Stegron has created a massive cult of mutated followers. When Eddie admits this may be too big for Venom to handle, she tells him Alchemax has figured out what's wrong with his symbiote. Astro-biologist Dr. Steven explains that the symbiote is undergoing toxic shock syndrome and gradually losing physical composition and its mental faculties. When Eddie demands to know what's causing this, Dr. Steven says that Eddie's body is causing this as a result of being exposed to high levels of anti-symbiote drugs similar to the ones developed by the U.S. government. The Venom symbiote notes that the FBI did this to Eddie while he was bonded to Toxin and it was bonded to others, and Dr. Steven theorizes that he was inoculated with such high concentrations of the chemical that his body's metabolism was altered to make him inhospitable to symbiotes. Transforming into Venom, Eddie lashes out in rage and denial, and Dr. Steven stammers that if he had access on the U.S. government's data on symbiotes he could provide a more detailed analysis. Liz tells Venom to stand down and that if he kills Dr. Steven then he won't be able to save his life. Restraining himself, Eddie says that he's listening and Liz hands him a syringe containing an experimental treatment that should temporarily balance out his metabolism and allow he and his symbiote to heal. Eddie is incredulous that she made this for him, but Liz simply says it was in everyone's best interest if he didn't turn into a degenerating psychotic. She warns him that the treatment isn't permanent and that he'll need to reapply it every two to three days, and Eddie asks if she'll make a supply for him to take home. Liz says she will, but only after he brings in Stegron. Eddie is angered by her holding him hostage, but Liz states that they have an agreement and that Eddie will want to make sure the treatment works. Eddie refuses to go to war against an army of dinosaurs, but Liz tells him that Stegron has some kind of psionic control over dinosaurs and that if he's taken out the hybrids' loyalty to him will end. Eddie is incredulous that Stegron can control the minds of dinosaurs, but Liz tells him he's one to talk given his creepy relationship with the symbiote. The Venom symbiote urges Eddie to listen to her and take the medication to save both their lives. Later, Stegron administers his formula to a cat as Moon Girl watches from a nearby tunnel. Venom appears behind her, startling her when he says she shouldn't be there. She accuses him of lying to her, stating that she recognizes an Ichthyosaur when she sees one, and that the scent Devil Dinosaur was following was coming from the horde of dinosaurs in the cavern. Venom retorts that she shouldn't be here because it's dangerous, asking her where Devil Dinosaur is. Moon Girl smugly responds that he went ahead to scout as Devil Dinosaur erupts from a wall behind Stegron. As Stegron welcomes Devil Dinosaur as another brother for the coming war, Venom asks Moon Girl how loyal he is to her. She responds that she and Devil Dinosaur have saved each other dozens of times and practically share a brain, asking why he wants to know. Laughing, Stegron takes control of Devil Dinosaur, who turns to roar at Venom and Moon Girl as Venom tells her that Devil Dinosaur is sharing his brain with someone else now. | Solicit = “THE LAND BEFORE CRIME” CONTINUES! • Eddie Brock and the Venom symbiote are reunited, but something’s wrong! • The symbiote can’t contain itself within Eddie’s veins and has started seeping out of his pores as he sleeps. • To make matters worse, Stegron is aiming to turn all of New York into dinosaurs by sunrise… and Venom is DINNER! | Notes = | Trivia = * The bully telling Eddie that Spinosaurus was bigger, stronger, and cooler than T. rex is a reference to ''Jurassic Park III''. | Recommended = | Links = }}